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~ 0 ; o E ol > > Wireless Wonder Dualâ€"mode digital from Sony * Dual:made PCS phone * Up to 4 hours talk time,/60 hour stondby Uithium 5 Line backht LCD display P95 iem Siphonymerie memery dict fme ond done disploy Seny‘s exchave "og dhel" for avcessing the phooe‘s use ieb * Compact Dagstol Comera * 2 4 GHz cordless phone "This is is more or less a wish list, like staff saying what they want for Christmas," Connolly said. "And like Christmas, there are no guarantees you are going to get what you wish for." "I want people to understand that this has not been accepted as the recommended budget," Ford explained. "It‘s not a ‘that‘s the way its going to be‘ thing here." "That 17 per cent is not disappearing," he said. "Its just being transferred over to the Region. People will stll have to pay that 17 per cent. It just won‘t be on the city portion of the bill." Broken down, Ford said, residents should see a $51 increase in property taxes to the city, yet also a $109 decrease where transit and waste management are concerned. All in all, he said, there should be a $58 decrease on the city bill. Both Connolly and Ford stressed that the information presented so far is preliminary and nothing is etched in stone. For comparison purposes, he also pointed out that overall property taxes in Waterloo have decreased from $642 in 1999 to $584 in 2000 Connolly disagreed with Ford‘s calculations. He said, in transferring the 17 per cent from the city bill to the Region bill, plus adding an additional eight per cent onto the city bill, residents won‘t see the decrease Ford explained, but an overall increase. Chief financial officer John Ford explained that even with an increase of eight per cent on the city bill, residents should still see a nine per cent decrease in overall. He said the city‘s eight per cent rate will go in the direction of a 4.1 per cent increase in city operaâ€" tions, a 2.6 per cent increase for the operation of the new millenâ€" nium recreation project, and a 1.3 per cent increase in library operaâ€" tions. "When you add those numbers together, you get eight per cent," he said. Waterloo Coun. Mike Connolly feels that the proposed eight per cent increase in Waterloo property taxes for the citys 2000 operating budget would do nothing other than save the Region‘s bacon. "I cant accept that number," the chairman of the finance commitâ€" tee stated. "I‘ve asked staff to come back with a lower amount. They have to take their pencils out and really look at it." The budget proposal, unveiled last week, shows that because transit and waste management services have been transferred to the Region‘ tax bill, Waterloo resâ€" idents should see a 17 per cent reduction on their city bills. Budget numbers don‘t add up to tax cut, says Connolly 'fivaoole?O "The Ulfimate SOHO Phone" * 2 4 GHz Operation / 2 lines Just North of Conestoga 2000 Di Mail, off King St Christmas Gift Jurbo MP3 Player + Play MP3 files! * With digital vorce recording SPOR 1y 1NBO qA x Expondoble up to 8 handsats Digital Answering Machine 10 Wyman Road Waterloo, ON 746â€"2650 _ Headquarters #ef Mabikiy n a regestered rodamark w d Connchs onel unde: Beance plons on a mmemim 30 day contract by Andrea Bailey Chronicle Staff 100 Victone 9t Awe *4 Bndpeper As Fas tw $70â€"2282 (t9) rasâ€"aste . Personal Communications Centre ‘Th? have to take their pencils out and really look at it.‘ Bell Mobility Coun. Mike Connolly Wed.â€"Fri. Saturday Sun. gon gone fishin‘ 10â€"6 10â€"9 10â€"5